Mouse anti- Ractopamine monoclonal antibody

Antibody, or immunoglobulin (Ig), are natural protein complexes produced by higher organisms like human to neutralize, or kill intruders like bacteria or viruses. When human catches a cold, human body (host) produces antibodies specific for the viruses caused the cold, and keep the production capability for the rest of the individual's life.

Research antibodies can be either polyclonal or monoclonal. The host body produce many species of antibodies upon attack, targeting different regions of the invader's identifying proteins, to quickly neutralize the invaders. Thus come the name poly clonal. Polyclonal antibodies used in research are normally produced in rabbit, but mouse, rat and guinea pig are also widely used. When a particular species of Ig is isolated through specialized processes known as hybridoma screening, it is called monoclonal.

Polyclonal antibodies may offer greater sensitivity in applications like Westernblot (WB) as many parts of the target protein (epitopes) can be recognized by the many species in the antibody. But this may also leads to more non specific bindings (extra bands on WB). Also, when polyclonal antibodies are used out, the replacement antibody from a different rabbit may offer different performance.

On the contrary, monoclonal antibodies are produced by using the same cells everytime when more antibodies are needed. Since there is only one species of antibody recognizing only one epitope in the target protein, extended screening is necessary to identify a hybridoma producing antibody with high specificity and productivity.

For more information about different types of antibodies and their properties, please visit Wikipedia Antibody. For information on functions, splicing variants and sequences of the target protein, please visit UniProt.org. For expression levels and tissue distribution of the target protein please visit bioGPS.org.

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